The Wall › Panel 1W › Arizona › Joel Ray Birch
JOEL RAY BIRCH
Captain · U.S. Air Force
January 20, 1936 – December 21, 1972
Service recordJoel Ray Birch, of Phoenix, Arizona, served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. He died on December 21, 1972, in Laos, at age 36. His name is inscribed on Panel 1W, Line 97 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 1W · Line 97
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Air Force
- Rank
- Captain (CAPT)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 7 AF
- Born
- January 20, 1936
- Home of record
- Phoenix, Arizona (Maricopa County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- December 21, 1972
- Age
- 36
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Unknown
Context · from the records
What was happening
25 names on the Wall carry the date December 21, 1972. In December 1972, 75 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The unit recorded as “7 AF”, his unit in the record, lost 3 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while the air war over Laos was under way. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. aircraft bombed the Ho Chi Minh Trail and supported the war in northern Laos; many of the Americans lost over Laos were never recovered.
Read the history
On the Wall
Also on Panel 1W, Line 97
- IRWIN STUART LERNERMajor · December 20, 1972
- CRAIG ALLAN PAULCaptain · December 20, 1972
- RANDOLPH ALLEN PERRY JRLieutenant Colonel · December 20, 1972
- WARREN RICHARD SPENCERMajor · December 20, 1972
- JOHN FRANKLIN STUARTLieutenant Colonel · December 20, 1972
Same unit, same day
- THOMAS TRAMMELL HART IIILieutenant Colonel · Panel 1W, Line 99
- GEORGE DUNCAN MACDONALDCaptain · Panel 1W, Line 101
From Phoenix
- DURWARD DEAN GOSNEYMajor · October 7, 1964
- CHARLES ALVA DALEMajor · June 9, 1965
- WILBURN DANIEL FELKINSCorporal · July 30, 1965
- LEE E ANDERSONSergeant · September 19, 1965
- DERRELL BLACKBUR JEFFORDSColonel · December 24, 1965
- JOHNNY HOWARD GODFREYCaptain · January 11, 1966
- GEORGE A HOAGLAND IIIStaff Sergeant · January 29, 1966
- JACK LANDEN HIMESPrivate First Class · February 26, 1966
- ROY JOHN HIGGINS JRCorporal · March 5, 1966
- DARRELL LEE JOHNSONPrivate First Class · March 5, 1966
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.